1. Philadelphia Phillies (35-24):
Philadelphia has the best record in all of baseball. They've gotten a bunch of help from Ace Roy Halladay who has a record of 8-3 and a 2.56 ERA. With Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels as their #2 and #3 pitchers, they can get away with having off-nights at the plate. SS Jimmy Rollins is day-to-day after fouling a ball off his knee in yesterday's game.
2. St. Louis Cardinals (36-25):
The Cards get the nod at #2 spot due to the emergence of Albert Pujols. He hit walk off homers in their last two games to bring his Home run total to thirteen. He's had a little bit of a slow start, but the rest of the team has covered for him. St. Louis has the the best collective batting average in the league (.281).
 |
| Alber Pujols was on fire this week. |
Ron Washington's Texas Rangers are the hottest team in baseball right now. They've won five straight games and eight of their last ten. Ian Kinsler is hitting .342 and RF Mitch Moreland, a second year player out of Mississippi State, has been one of biggest surprises this year. Things are looking even better for the Rangers as Josh Hamilton gets more at bats after returning from an early season injury.
4. New York Yankees (33-24):
Despite having the 19th highest collective batting average, the Yankees have the third highest run total. The Yankees offense has been excellent as they have the highest run differential in the Major Leagues (+73). The Yankees continue to play well as they've won seven out of their last ten games. They face a tough schedule in their next two weeks as they face three of the best teams in baseball in Boston, Cleveland, and Texas.
5. Boston Red Sox (33-26):
The Red Sox have rebounded from their awful start, and as of today trail the Yankees in the standings by just one game. Both Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz are in the top five in Batting Averages for the American League, and SP Josh Beckett has the lowest ERA in the AL. Filled with confidence after sweeping the A's, the Sox will look to move into first place in the AL East after their upcoming series with the Yankees.
 |
| Gonzalez has been one of Boston's best players. |
The Tribe have been struggling as of late. In fact, they've lost four straight and seven of their last ten. Their offense has been struggling lately, as they've only been able to muster six runs in their last four games. Their overall record puts them at the #6 spot, but they are showing a downward trend.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (33-26):
The Brewers are another hot team in the NL Central. They've won seven of their last ten games, and only trail the Cardinals by two games. Ryan Braun has carried the offense, but he's day-to day now with a sore shoulder.
8. Arizona Diamondbacks (33-27)
Despite being half a game behind the Giants in the NL West, I think their the better team in the division. Eventually, the Giants' hot pitchers will cool off and the Diamondbacks will overtake them. None of the players on the team really stand out, but they've been playing well as a team and have won seven out of their last ten.
9. San Francisco Giants (33-26):
The San Francisco Giants are the best team in the NL West which is the weakest division in the Majors. There offense has struggled this season, and things look even worse now that Buster Posey is out for the year. The Giants have relied on pitching from Tim Lincecum and Ryan Vogelsong, who has gone six straight starts without giving up more than one run, to win games from the mound.
10. Seattle Mariners (31-28):
Although Ichiro is statistically having the worst year of his career, the Mariners are still a few games over ".500". Seattle hasn't been blowing out their opponents, but they've managed to win six straight series, along with seven out of their last ten. Once Ichiro comes around, the Mariners have the potential to win the AL West.
 |
| Ichiro's been having a poor year. |
Atlanta's pitching staff has been great this year. In fact, they've given up the fewest number of runs in the entire league (202). Despite having great pitching, they are still in third place in the NL East. Their offense has let them down through out the year, but if they get their bats going they have a chance to contend for at the very least, the wildcard spot.
12. Detroit Tigers (31-27):
Once again, Jim Leyland's Tigers are playing steady baseball. Miguel Cabrera has been crushing home runs and driving his team mates home while Justin Verlander has been solid from the mound. They've been dominant at home, but they seem to struggle when they go on the road. If Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge can get healthy, they will continue to play well.
13. Florida Marlins (31-26):
The Marlins need to wake up from their recent slump soon if they want to keep their second place spot in the NL East. They've lost four consecutive games, and seven of their last ten. One of the main problems has been that starting shortstop Hanley Ramirez has been banged up and hasn't played in a week.
14. Cincinnati Reds (30-30):
The Reds and my favorite manager Dusty Baker are playing decent ball and are only five games behind the Cardinals. They've been scoring a ton of runs, but their pitching staff can't keep opposing teams off the scoreboard. Joey Votto is hitting .338 and and Jay Bruce has hit seventeen home runs and amounted forty-seven RBI's. It's too bad they have a collective ERA of 4.45 runs per game, because this is a team I'd like to see in the playoffs.
 |
| Dusty Baker is one of the best managers in the MLB. |
You have to feel a little sympathetic for Tampa Bay. They are a small market team playing in the toughest division in the league. If you are above .500 in the AL East, you must be doing something right. They've gotten outstanding pitching from Jeremy Hellickson and the rest of their staff, but their offense has been weaker than in past years. Maybe things will change once 3B Evan Longoria is healthy again.
No comments:
Post a Comment